


A Trip Away From Yorkshire

by goodoldfashionedloverboy



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:42:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23246458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodoldfashionedloverboy/pseuds/goodoldfashionedloverboy
Summary: After the death of Mr. Gregson and her hidden pregnancy, Edith returns home to see that her mother had hired a lady’s maid for her, to be a friend and to help the melancholic daughter.
Relationships: Edith Crawley/Original Female Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. Return Home

_“Lady Edith has returned home.”  
  
_

After a prolonged stay in Switzerland with her aunt, Lady Rosamund, Lady Edith returned home. She looked as tired as she had the day she left - and the trip was made to give her a bit of a well-deserved rest after her Mr. Gregson passed away. “Holly, that’s your bell. Lady Edith has returned home,” Mrs. Hughes said, watching the young maid as she finished a sip of tea.

“I’m off, ma’am,” she muttered, dusting out her dress and heading up to the front doors. She smiled and tilted her head down as she saw Lady Grantham, keeping polite nevertheless. Lady Edith had been fond of the young maid for the year or so she had been in employ to the family, and Lady Grantham had made the decision in Edith’s absence to give her her own lady’s maid. If her mother and sister had a lady’s maid, Edith was more than old enough to deserve one as well.

As Edith emerged from the auto, Cora lit up at seeing her daughter again. “Edith, darling! How was your trip home?” She exclaimed, holding her arms out to her. A quick embrace between daughter and mother later, Cora said, “And look what I’ve done! Miss McCartney is going to be your lady’s maid! We’ve talked about it with Mrs. Hughes and we all thought it would be the best decision. There’s nobody better than a lady’s maid, and Miss McCartney and you are so fond of each other!”

Holly smiled as Jimmy took Edith’s bags down from the auto and headed up. She followed after him quietly and headed up the servant’s stairs up to Edith’s room. “I’m quite nervous,” the young lady said.

“Why?” Jimmy asked, looking at her. “It’s just Lady Edith. She’s the least stuck up of them all.”

“Least stuck up, but the loneliest of them as well. I wonder why that is.”

  
  


At the dinner gong, Holly headed up with Anna, carrying Edith’s dinner gown and accessories. “You have got this down pat, I promise,” Anna reassured, leaving the girl as she headed down the hall. Holly made her way to Edith’s room and knocked on quietly before she headed in at Edith’s word.

“Hello Lady Edith... how was your rest?” Holly asked, laying out the outfit with a smile. “We’re all happy to have you home!”

Edith looked at the maid with a genuine, though tired, smile. “It was very good, Miss McCartney, thank you,” she replied, standing up as Holly helped her get dressed. “Switzerland is nice but it is very nice to be home as well. I’m grateful to be back to nice English air.”

“I should only imagine. I visited my grandparents once in Moscow, but it was lovely to come home. Though home is quite far from here.” The maid was different from her coworkers - she was from Liverpool, and everyone working at Downton was from Yorkshire. And it made all the difference that she wasn’t only from Liverpool, but she was Russian as well. They kept that hidden from everyone - the same way Holly hid her Jewishness from everyone. She cleared her throat and blinked as she focused again on the task at hand. “This color looks lovely on you, my lady. Perhaps you should wear it more often.”

Edith looked through the mirror to her maid and watched her gently. “Thank you for that... I don’t get many compliments. You and I have the same complexion. I should imagine you would wear things like this if you were able.”

A small laugh passed Holly’s lips. “No, my lady. I’d never be able to wear anything that nice. Not on a lady maid’s wage.” She turned and got Edith’s jewellery and helped her place it all on. “I just hope one day I should be lucky enough to be happy with someone who loves me. I don’t need much out of life.”

“No? Have you ever had an ambition?”

“Oh. No, nothing that would make money. Besides, that isn’t all that one needs in life.” She began brushing Edith’s hair and caught her eye in the mirror. “I wanted to be a ballerina. I studied when I was younger. My father fell on hard times and couldn’t support it anymore. I was quite good!”

Edith smiled and put her gloves on as Holly worked her hair. “I’ve never done anything like that! You must have been very good, if you miss it so badly.”

“Oh, I don’t know much about that, my lady, but I do appreciate it. I had brothers, as well, so I needed to do something not dominated by boys! You are very lucky the only brother you have is Mr. Branson.”

Mr. Branson - Tom, to the family - had married Lady Sybil, Edith’s late younger sister and had become a rather nicely fitting member to the family. Sybil had died due to complications in childbirth after having a daughter - whom the family now called Sybbie. She was a lovely little girl, and Holly was jealous of Mr. Branson for having such a sweet and happy little daughter. One day, perhaps, she’d have one; but like other servants, it wasn’t time.

“Well that is true. We are all grateful for him, no matter how Papa acts,” she joked, getting a small chuckle out of her maid. “You know, I do believe Doctor Clarkson has a nephew closer to your age.”

Holly laughed again. “Well, Lady Edith, I’ve been your maid for twenty minutes and you’re already sending me away!” As she finished the curls in Edith’s hair, she piped up. “If I were older, I’d set my sights on Dr. Clarkson.”

Edith roared in laughter - something she hadn’t done in many months. “You wouldn’t! I guess you and I are more alike than we seem.” She turned in her chair and looked up at her maid, smiling up at her. “Thank you very much for the conversation. Perhaps Mama was right - I did need someone like a lady’s maid. I hope we shall be good friends.”


	2. Want To Go To London?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edith receives a letter from Mr. Gregson’s magazine and plans a trip to London, an asks her lady’s maid to go with her. Holly has never been to London before, and Mr. Molesley talks to her about it. Molesley talks to Holly about her family, something many don’t ask about.

_“You work for her. She isn’t your friend.”_

After a few months of her new position, Holly was quite happy with it. She and Edith had gotten rather close - as close as a lady and her maid could be. After she had brought Edith her breakfast, Holly was headed back down to the servants quarters to finish her breakfast. But she was stopped on the stairs by Mr. Barrow, looming over her even a few steps lower than her. “How’s Lady Edith today, Miss McCartney?”

“Excuse me please, Mr. Barrow,” Holly muttered, her head dipped low in order to not be rude. Thomas wasn’t a higher rank than her - technically they were both servants - but he was lead footman, and so he had authority over her. “I need to shine Lady Edith’s shoes.”

“Lady Edith, Lady Edith,” he mimicked a little, following her as she squeezed through. “You two are quite fond of each other, aren’t you?” She’d heard that tone from him before, and she knew she’d hear it again. It was that oozing, holier-than-thou tone, and she hated it. His voice dripped with it. “You work for her, she isn’t your friend.”

Holly rolled her eyes as she began shining the shoes. “And so you tell me, Mr. Barrow. And were you not friends with Lady Sybil? God rest her soul,” she quipped, properly making the small prayer afterwards. “You’re just unhappy I care for a member of the family and are angry I won’t do your nefarious plots.”

Thomas went up and looked over her, his eyes angry as she’d ever seen them. “I’m half tempted to tell everyone your secret.”

“My secret, Mr. Barrow? That my father is an immigrant? That I speak Russian and am so? By all means, tell everyone.”

“Those aren’t the only ones. And you know it.” He whispered, still looming over her. He’d had his own issues with his homophobia - it was 1923, yes, but one didn’t speak of it. But what would the family think if their daughter was being taken care of by a lesbian? “Should I tell them you return home for Jewish holidays?”

Her chest rose and fell as her heart beat quickly. “Do it. Coward.”

“Excuse me?” He roared, albeit quietly.

“You have nothing better to do than to make others miserable. I am a loyal servant to the Crawleys and to the Crown. My father has every right to be who he is and I am the same way. I do what my employers tell me because it is my job, and it is not my job to be harassed by you!” She fought back, shoving him away with all the strength she could muster. He fell back into the door, making it rattle, and anger filled his eyes. With the commotion, though, Mr. Bates opened the door.

“What on earth is going on in here?” He asked, his voice calm and gentle as it typically was. He saw Holly’s disheveled expression and saw Thomas feeling the exact same. One knew how much the two disliked each other and he wouldn’t imagine what others would, so he hobbled in, his cane clacking on the floor as he took a few steps toward the young lady. “Are you alright, Miss McCartney?”

“Yes, Mr. Bates, thank you. Perhaps I should finish this job in the servants hall. Will you come with me? We can have a small cup of tea.”

After she had breakfasted and had gotten changed, Edith went downstairs and headed into the library, smiling as she saw her family gathered there. “Good morning, everybody!” She said cheerfully, typically unlike her. Her mother, Cora, looked up with delight.

“Good morning, darling! You look lovely today! Has Miss McCartney done something new to your hair?” Cora chirped, getting up to kiss Edith’s cheek before sitting back down and grabbing her teacup. She was grateful she had asked Miss McCartney to take care of Edith - it was good to see her typically melancholic daughter have a friend.

“She has! And she talked me into getting this new gown as well. I wasn’t too fussed on the colour, but I quite like it.” She sat down once she got her tea and looked down at the teal day dress she was wearing. It had lacing down the front and one of the lowest waistlines any of her dresses had had up until then. The colour wasn’t one she typically wore - but she was happy she’d decided upon it. It had taken quite a lot of persuasion.

“You’re quite fond of her,” Robert spoke up, looking up from the letters Mr. Carson has brought in. “This is yours, Edith dear,” he added, holding one out, then said, “you deserved it, after what had happened to poor Mr. Gregson.”

A few months prior, Edith had escaped to Switzerland with her aunt to hide an illegitimate child she’d had, fathered by Michael Gregson. But now she was home, the child was being taken care of by a family in Switzerland, and Edith was planning on getting back into the magazine business. “Perhaps so. Oh, I’m wanted at the office tomorrow. I’ll leave for London in the morning.”

Mary looked at her teacup and mumbled under her breath. “Perhaps she’ll bring Miss McCartney.”

“Perhaps I’ll bring Miss McCartney,” Edith said, trying to sound nonchalant.

For some reason, it made Tom laugh a bit more than he had even expected, and he coughed while taking a sip of his tea. The family all looked up, worried about him. He cleared his throat and gave a small smile. “My apologies.”

With the odd exchange, Edith sighed and shook her head. Her family always tended to be this way. “I’ll go call and get a train ticket. I’ll leave on the earliest train. I don’t know when I’ll be home,” she said to nobody in particular, though caught Tom’s eye as she stood up. He was watching her, she’d noticed, more so than he normally would’ve done. She offered a small smile and headed towards the main hall, looking down at the letter again. How she missed Mr. Gregson, but at this point, it was truly helpless. She had lost him, lost their child, and what did she have but the memories to show for them? “Carson? Can you please get Miss McCartney for me?”

Carson nodded and looked at her. “My lady, may I ask a question?”

“Of course.”

“I fear yourself and Miss McCartney are getting a tad too... familiar, my lady. I worry that she shall forget her place.”

The words were ones Edith had heard many a time now. It always seemed that whenever anything was going well for Edith that everyone seemed to disapprove. Another sigh passed her lips as she headed to the phone. “Please get her for me, Carson.”

Soon enough, the young maid appeared, heading up to Edith with a smile. “Is everything alright, my lady?” Holly asked, cheerful as ever.

Edith hung up and gave a smile to her, feeling relieved to see a friendly face. “I’m heading to London tomorrow - would you want to come with me? It’s not too terribly fun going by oneself - and you’ve never been, have you?”

“No, ma’am, I haven’t! Oh, may I really come with you?”

A laugh erupted from Edith’s lips - and her family heard the happy pealing sound of it from the library. “Of course! We’ll take the 8 o’clock train. Perhaps we’ll even stay the night, so make sure to pack enough for the both of us, please!”

Mary looked at her mother and rolled her eyes. “I love Anna, but I don’t tend to go to London on a whim with her.”

“Edith will be going to work, darling,” Cora replied. “And Miss McCartney’s from up north - goodness knows its exciting for people that live so far from it!”

“Nevertheless. It strikes me as quite odd. Does it not worry anyone else that a Russian immigrant is now taking care of Edith?”

“She isn’t an immigrant. She’s born and raised English,” Tom argued. “Really, there’s no reason to hold her father against her. She’s a nice young lady and she’s a good friend. Don’t be nasty.”

It wasn’t often that Tom told Mary off, even in the gentle way he’d do so. Mary looked at him, shock written all over her wide-eyed face. She hated being reproached, and she stood with offence. “I’m going for a walk.” As Carson began opening the door, she mocked, “Perhaps I’ll ask Miss McCartney,” only to face the young lady when she left the library.

With an expression nearly like a deer caught in headlights, Holly looked at the woman. “Is everything alright, my lady?” She asked, gentle and subservient as normal. The lady didn’t like her - Holly could tell, and the feeling was nearly mutual - but it was still worth her job to be nice, nevertheless. “Did you need me?”

“No, thank you. Have a lovely time in London tomorrow. Will it be your first time?”

“Yes, my lady. I’m terribly excited,” she said, though her tone belied sadness that she was being mocked just seconds ago. When Mary gave her a small, fake smile, Holly looked down. “I should go pack.”

“Yes. Being a servant is never ending,” Mary quipped, looking at her for a second before heading out.

With her feelings hurt, Holly headed down the winding staircase to the servant’s quarters. “Mr. Molesley, can you help me get Lady Edith’s suitcase please? We’re going into London tomorrow and she wants me to pack for the both of us... Do you think she would mind if I put both our clothes in one case?”

Mrs. Hughes looked at her with a bit of surprise. “You can borrow a smaller case for yourself, Holly. That would be more than fine.”

Holly nodded and went with Molesley. She was tired now, after having her feelings hurt, but it was no time to mope.He noticed the uncharacteristic nature of her and mumbled, “Well, what are you going to do in London?”

She looked up at him. “Oh, I don’t know. Lady Edith needs to go to the magazine... I’ve never been in London before, so I don’t know where to go. Is it true they have underground trains?”

“Yes, the underground!” Molesley replied, a sweet smile erupting on his face. “Perhaps if you and Lady Edith have the time, you should visit a museum! The British Museum or maybe Madame Tussaud’s!” Molesley was a bit older - a few years younger than her father - and was a teacher at heart. He loved to go to museums, to learn, to teach, and he loved sharing that with others.

“Perhaps! What is Madame Tussauds?” She asked, holding the step stool as he stood on it to grab a smaller case for her.

“It’s a museum of wax figures! It sounds a bit odd, but it’s quite interesting! They have the most incredible Queen Victoria,” he said, grabbing the case and holding it out to her. She grabbed it and set it down, only to hold the stool again so he could climb down. “I can’t believe you’ve never been there. To London, I mean.”

Holly smiled. “I grew up in Liverpool... We spent our extra money on my lessons, and that was about it. We were a big family, we didn’t have lots of money... Papa was a dockworker. Mummy stayed at home. It wasn’t often we got days out - if we did, we’d go to the beach! That was always lovely, even though I can’t swim.” That was more information than really necessary, but she couldn’t help it.

“How many siblings do you have?” Molesley replied. They moved to another part of the room to get Edith’s luggage - much bigger and more ornate, differentiating hers from Holly’s.

“Five brothers. I’m the baby and the only girl,” she laughed, watching his face. “I know! Their names are Russian and that’s how I think of them, but they’ve changed them to be English a few years ago. Nikolai - Nicolas - sorry, Isaac, Ivan, Peter, and Mikhail - Michael.” It was hard for her to not say them in Russian, but she smiled at the thought of those boys. “Niko is the oldest, and he’s my favorite... I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Do you have a Russian name?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “My nickname was Lili. It um... it translates to Lydia. I don’t like it that much.”

The conversation was cut short by Mrs. Hughes coming in. “Miss McCartney, I hope you’re not dawdling! I can help you pack, but we need to get it done before we have supper.”

Holly sighed and picked up both cases with a smile to Molesley. “Thank you. Just for talking with me. You remind me of my dad a bit, not to be funny... I appreciate it.” Out she headed with Mrs. Hughes, and Molesley watched after them with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one’s very long but I like it very much! You can follow me on Twitter or Instagram @peterthork!


	3. 8 O’clock to London

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter leading up to Holly and Edith’s quick trip to London. Holly is fighting more of her feelings developing towards Edith, and Edith is still blissfully unaware. 
> 
> (It involves lots of talk of Dr. Clarkson simply because I have taste for older men with pretty eyes!)

_“8 am train to London. Boarding now.”_

Earlier than normal, Holly woke up and got herself ready. She didn’t have many nice clothes, but she got as nicely dressed as she could. She got into a nice pink day dress and her Sunday best shoes before doing her hair. After looking at herself in the mirror, she gave herself a smile, pleased at how her outfit had come together. It was London - you had to look nice in London, especially the first time you’re going!

“Holly?” Came Daisy’s gentle lisping voice as she knocked on the door, not wanting to wake the rest of the maids. “I got your breakfast in the dining hall,” she finished, looking at Holly with a smile when she saw her outfit. “You look great! You’re gonna love London, I know you will.”

“I hope so! I’ve never been and I don’t even know what to expect,” she whispered, following along to the servants’ dining hall. The night before, she and Edith had set out her travelling clothes, and she was going to dress herself before Holly brought up a small breakfast for her. As Holly ate her breakfast, she spoke to Mrs. Patmore and Daisy about her upcoming two days. “I just can’t believe that Lady Edith wants to bring me with her. It’s so nice of her and for no reason.”

“There’s a reason,” Mrs. Patmore said, starting to make the breakfast for the servants, who would soon be sleepily pouring into the dining hall. “She’s always glossed over, Lady Edith is. What with Lady Mary being the eldest and the sad loss of Lady Sybil... Lady Edith is always passed over. And she just seemed to melt a bit when Sir Anthony jilted her, poor girl.” Mrs. Patmore had worked for the family for many, many years, and had seen a tremendous amount of change and hurt come to the family. “And now, with Mr. Gregson... The girl deserves someone who makes her happy, and that’s you, dear!”

Holly stood with her tea cup in her hands, leaning on the island where Daisy began her work. “I should hope so... She’s wonderful to look after, and she really is quite funny!”

“Yeah, and what’s the joke about Doctor Clarkson you two have?” Daisy piped up.

The thought made Holly laugh - she set down her cup and looked at Mrs. Patmore, who had an incredulous look on her face. She hoped those girls weren’t making fun of such a good man! “I told Lady Edith once that if I were older, I’d marry him.” The thought wasn’t entirely true - Holly wasn’t one to marry a man, but she did find Dr. Clarkson very attractive!

Daisy laughed, looking at the maid in shock. “You wouldn’t!”

“Daisy!” Mrs. Patmore admonished.

Holly giggled as well. “He’s handsome!” She argued, though she heard the bell for Edith’s room. “Well, with that, I will be heading off. I will see you both tomorrow!” As she headed off, Daisy ran after her, holding out a small pamphlet. “What’s this?”

“A map. A map of London so you don’t get lost!” She said excitedly. London had been incredible to her -she wished she could go with Holly, but it was exciting to her that she’d hear stories from the girl the next day. Throwing her arms around her quickly, she added, “Stay safe!” before running back to the kitchen, letting Holly head up.

“Goooood morning, my lady,” Holly said with a smile, heading into Edith’s room. For some reason that had become the only reason she would wish her a good morning, which was good, because she couldn’t imagine Lady Mary or Her Ladyship reacting well to such a greeting every morning. She shut the door behind her and went up to Edith, who was sat in front of her vanity. “Ready to go?”

Edith smiled as she looked at Holly through the mirror. “Good morning! Nearly so. Is the car ready?”

“Mhm!” Holly nodded, fixing a bit of Edith’s hair by smoothing it down gently with her hand. “Daisy gave me a map of the city, too - she didn’t want me getting lost! I doubt I will be doing much without you, but it was the sweetest gesture. Where will we be staying?”

“Oh, with my Aunt Rosamund! She loves having visitors.” While that was only partly true, she knew she could be honest with Rosamund. Rosamund knew of her illicit pregnancy, she knew where Marigold was, and she had kept the secrets more than secretive. It just seemed that Rosamund was one of the safest people in the world, apart from Holly, these days. And while Holly hadn’t yet learned everything, it was on Edith’s mind to tell her. “On the train there, we’ll sit in first class, and don’t you argue,” she explained, holding a finger up as she saw Holly’s mouth open to protest. “It was easiest and cheapest to buy, and if I am bringing you to London, I will spoil you if I would like to.”

Watching her through the mirror, Holly stopped just to watch Edith’s face for a moment too long. It was the face of just another blonde, like herself, but she seemed to look more dainty, more fragile than Holly was. Mr. Barrow knew of Holly’s attraction to Edith, so she had to be wary, but it was quite hard to hide lately. She let out a small sigh and smiled as she blinked and came back to earth. “Thank you, my lady. I truly appreciate it. We should get going soon or we will miss our train.”

At the train station, Holly got obviously excited. It wasn’t often she was lucky enough to take a train - the last time she’d taken one was New Year’s, about six months ago. Her parents had bought her a ticket to come home and celebrate a small, belated Hanukkah, and it was a lovely trip. Edith let out a small laugh as she looked at her companion, who was bouncing a bit in her heels. “I doubt you slept last night.”

“Oh, I hardly did,” Holly laughed, looking over to Edith. Her feet fell, and she stood straight up. “Sorry.”

“I’m not surprised. Are you that excited for the train?” The question barely had any time to escape her lips before the train came up, bellowing its horn. Holly had begun subtly bouncing again - she was going to London and she was sat in first class! This was one of the best days of her life! Edith smiled at the slightly younger woman affectionately before walking up to the train, holding out both tickets. They were both helped up and they took their seats. Holly looked at it with excitement - while normal train cars were nice, this just... seemed better. Seemed fancier! She melted into the nice chair and smiled at Edith.

“I’m very much excited for the train,” she finally said, giggling a bit, which led to Edith laughing as well. As Edith’s head quickly shot towards the platform, Holly sat up and looked over, only to see Edith looking directly at Dr. Clarkson. It led her to erupt in another bout of giggles, only leading Edith to do the same. The girls covered their faces so that they wouldn’t get found out, only to finally get a breath as the man walked off and the train started moving. “You are trouble, Lady Crawley!”

Edith reached for a handkerchief in her handbag and dabbed around her eyes, very much out of breath and very amused. “We both have a bad taste in men,” she joked, only to laugh as Holly waved her hand.

“Perhaps so, but if I ever have to get married, it’s him I’m choosing!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I’m so pleased people are loving this - I wasn’t expecting much of a Downton Abbey fandom! Please follow me on twitter or instagram @peterthork and make sure I actually write more!

**Author's Note:**

> hey so I super love Edith and while I love Bertie Pelham I’ve decided that since I’m a lesbian what I says goes so 
> 
> If u like it follow me on Twitter @peterthork


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